Era: Starting from divorce from female college student

June 1986, this summer was a little different.

On a street near Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island.

Zhao Leyong was shopping; he wasn't alone, there was another person beside him.

"Xiaoxue, how about we go rest over there for a bit later?"

An Qianxue nodded upon hearing this.

Neither of them were very old; Zhao Leyong was eleven, and An Qianxue was also eleven, except that he was a month older than her.

They were classmates and had known each other for several years.

Whenever they have time, the two of them go shopping together.

They were childhood sweethearts!
During her break, An Qianxue suddenly felt as if she had urinated.

He froze on the spot.

Taking advantage of Zhao Leyong's inattention, she quickly looked down.

Thankfully, it didn't happen.

So she quickly asked Zhao Leyong to take off his coat, which she then tied around her waist. She then grabbed some tissues and went to the bathroom.

She only found out what was going on after she got to the bathroom.

It turns out she's entered puberty.

She's a girl, so she's quite knowledgeable about these basic physiological aspects.

But just to be on the safe side, she still wanted to see a doctor for advice.

So after leaving the bathroom, she dragged Zhao Leyong straight to the hospital.

Zhao Leyong is rich, and An Qianxue also has pocket money.

But their faces look too young, after all, they are only eleven years old, even though they are already over 1.5 meters tall.

But it was still too small, and the doctor could tell.

After finally getting their numbers, the two lined up to wait.

Soon, it was their turn.

"Wait for me outside, I'll be there soon."

An Qianxue didn't dare let Zhao Leyong come in with her, otherwise she would be extremely embarrassed.

After entering the doctor's office, An Qianxue quickly told the doctor about her situation.

Fortunately, it was a female doctor, and she was very responsible.

Ask carefully why An Qianxue came alone and why no adult accompanied her.
They also asked many questions about my recent diet, whether I had any other discomfort, and so on.

After a check-up, the doctor told An Qianxue that this was a normal physiological condition during puberty.

"From now on, you'll be coming here once a month, so you need to be careful."

"When you are on your period, try to rest as much as possible and drink plenty of hot water."

An Qianxue nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

In other words, from today onwards, she is no longer a child, but has become an 'adult'.

However, entering puberty at the age of eleven is indeed a bit early.

After leaving the hospital, Zhao Leyong was still full of worry, but An Qianxue wouldn't say anything.

He was so anxious that he jumped up and down, scratching his ears and cheeks.

He liked An Qianxue very much, not only because the two of them had gotten along very well since childhood, but also because she became more and more beautiful as she grew up.

She has a really great personality.

In addition, his mother, Liu Baochan, and An Qianxue's mother were best friends, the kind of close relationship where they would sit together for tea and meals at least five times a month.

This kind of good friendship is hard for outsiders to understand.

After all, many people can't even meet with their relatives five times a month.

Therefore, Zhao Leyong really enjoys playing with An Qianxue.

"You used to tell me everything, but now you don't want to tell me anything anymore."

"This is our girl's secret, we definitely can't tell you."

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, I'll go back and ask my sister. She'll definitely know!"

Upon hearing this, An Qianxue chuckled: "Your sister might not know that."

Of course she knew Zhao Leyong's sister, Zhao Linlin.

The brother and sister are twins, born in February 1975, and are eleven years old this year.

An Qianxue had already asked the doctor while she was in the office.

Girls don't all go through puberty at eleven; some girls experience it later, around twelve, thirteen, or fourteen.

Some people come even earlier, some as young as ten.

Everyone is different, and it depends on the specific circumstances.

Soon, Zhao Leyong returned home and immediately asked his sister about it.

As a result, her sister rolled her eyes at her.
"How would I know? Xiaoxue's secret isn't my secret. You're kidding me. If she doesn't tell you, how am I supposed to find out? I can't exactly go and ask her, can I?"

"Yes, Linlin, can you ask her for me?"

Zhao Leyong immediately said excitedly, but he soon received a cold shoulder because his sister didn't agree.

Zhao Linlin naturally wouldn't ask about such things, because it would only make her look foolish.

Zhao Linlin, who is already eleven years old, is not ignorant of anything.

Having lived in the villa in Deep Water Bay for so many years, Zhao Linlin had already learned a lot.

Although her mother and Aunt Lin treated her very well, being in such a family meant that while she certainly lacked nothing materially, she was unlikely to receive enough affectionate care.

For example, her father, Zhao Mancang, was rarely home, and she could only see him for no more than half a month each month.

If her father hadn't come home relatively often, she would have thought he was keeping a mistress.

This is all too common in Hong Kong Island.

Even in the entertainment industry, there are quite a few people who have two or three wives.

Moreover, Zhao Mancang's current wealth is indeed extraordinary.

Or rather, Zhao Linlin herself is very wealthy.

In the latter half of last year, her father led Zhao Linlin and the other children to trade Japanese yen and German marks, and everyone made a lot of money.

Zhao Jinshi is the one who has earned the most money, with a net worth of over five billion US dollars.

Although Zhao Linlin's net worth is not much, it now exceeds twelve dollars, which is more than one hundred million dollars more than her age.

She has so much money, but it's currently deposited in her mother's name.

Who can blame her when she's still a minor?

Of course, she has bank cards and cash, so using that money is no problem at all.

However, if she needs to pay more than one million dollars, she must have her mother's signature.

Her mother would even receive a message every time she made a purchase exceeding $100,000.

Zhao Linlin herself only had two million Hong Kong dollars in cash and more than 500,000 US dollars in banknotes.

My allowance is more than enough for my daily needs.

However, she didn't need that much money on a daily basis, since her family had no shortage of food and drink. "Tch, if you're not going to help, fine, I'll go ask Mommy myself."

While Zhao Leyong was busy visiting his mother Liu Baochan, Zhao Mancang was sitting in his boss's chair in Yunlan City, frowning as he looked at Lü Yangui in front of him.

The latter had just reported to him that Sam's goal was very simple: to stop Yunlan City from cooperating with the Saudi Empire.

After frowning, Zhao Mancang asked:

"Have you investigated whether anything has happened in the Saudi Empire recently? For example, is there a problem with the equity or management of Aramco?"

"Or are you referring to something else?"

From November of last year to April of this year, the Saudi Empire began releasing large quantities of oil.

This has caused the national crude oil price to fall from $31 per barrel before April to $12 per barrel now.

In just six months, crude oil prices have fallen by more than 50%, which is terrifying.

And now it's about to drop below ten dollars.

The Saudi empire today shows no intention of reducing crude oil production, continuing to extract and export large quantities of crude oil.

Why would the Saudi Empire do something so self-destructive?

The reason is simple: before 1985, OPEC member countries were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, completely disregarding the OPEC agreement and exporting large quantities of crude oil.

At the time, crude oil was priced at $30 per barrel, a price that was quite tempting for oil-producing countries.

In order to seize market share, the Saudi Empire will certainly not tolerate this any longer.

By selling crude oil at low prices, Saudi Arabia aims to expand its share of the global market.

This strategy helps attract more buyers, increase crude oil exports, and thus consolidate its position in the global oil market.

On the other hand, this is a way to tell other OPEC members not to use such tactics, otherwise they'll all be left to starve.

After all, in today's global crude oil market, large amounts of oil have been discovered in Alaska and the North Sea, and they are also among the top crude oil exporting regions.

In addition, the Saudi Empire seems to have also learned that the US is developing a highly advanced oil extraction technology.

What is it called? Shale oil.

Anyway, the Saudi Empire doesn't really understand it either. In any case, Nasser Aziz and his people have to use drastic measures to achieve their goals.

Although raising crude oil prices is the goal of these oil-producing countries.

But OPEC and other member countries always resort to such underhanded tactics, how could the Saudi Empire tolerate it?

Zhao Mancang naturally knew about this, and he even made a lot of money from it.

But it's June now, and the Saudi empire has already ended its oil price war.

Sam's move to target the Saudi Empire at this time is certainly not due to factors related to oil prices.

In fact, Sam was more satisfied with the Saudi Empire's previous actions.

After all, with crude oil prices falling, the capitalists in the US shouldn't be too happy.

Gasoline prices may fall, but crude oil imports will also decrease, so there's bound to be a lot of money to be made in the process.

Crude oil, as the lifeblood of industry, is used to produce products such as coal gas, gasoline, aviation kerosene, and asphalt, all of which are essential components of industry.

It can be said that crude oil holds a very, very important position in modern industry.

"We haven't figured out the specific reason yet, but I've already made arrangements."

Hearing Lü Yangui's words, Zhao Mancang nodded, then suddenly said seriously:

"In that case, we'll suspend our desert greening project with the Saudi Empire for now, and we won't negotiate."

"We can ignore what Sam is trying to do, but didn't Nasser Aziz previously refuse to accept the $108 billion offer?"

"The situation is simple: force them to agree."

"In short, we in Yunlan City can sit back and relax, take our time, there's no rush!"

Given Yunlan City's current status, there's really no rush.

However, the Saudi Empire is undoubtedly the most anxious right now, and it all depends on whether Nasser Aziz agrees to the previous offer.

"Yes, sir, I understand." Lü Yangui nodded seriously and replied.

Zhao Mancang's decision is very beneficial to Yunlan City.

Although there is a suspicion of taking advantage of the situation, it is Yunlan City's own freedom to choose who to cooperate with, and no one can interfere.

Sam's move could be considered a mere assist.

As for whether Yunlan City will ultimately cooperate with Sam, that's a matter for later.

As the saying goes, there are no permanent conflicts between nations, only interests.

Even though Yunlan City is not a country, who would dare not treat it as one?

If you consider it a domestic enclave, good heavens, Sam would be the first to object.

On the other side of the Yunlan City government building, Zhao Mancang looked at the busy figures inside, thought for a moment, and then turned and left.

He did not meet with the other party.

Maintaining the current relationship is fine.

He only discovered that Xu Wenluo had also come to Yunlan City a few years ago by chance.

However, he had no intention of acknowledging the other party's identity.

Some people are in the past, and there's no need for them to reappear in each other's lives.

"Hmm? Brother Zhao is here?"

Just as Zhao Mancang left, Xu Wenluo, who was busy in the office, seemed to sense something, looked up, but did not see him.

Xu Wenluo is a little girl that Zhao Mancang rescued on Mindanao Island more than 20 years ago.

At that time, she was just a little mute, and her tongue had already been cut off.

After being rescued by Zhao Mancang, he settled her on Hong Kong Island.

He learned ventriloquism, accounting, and other skills, took the ACCA exam, and finally got a job at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily News in the Illumination Building.

That little girl who was only sixteen or seventeen years old back then is now a middle-aged woman in her early forties.

She had given birth to a child, and she herself found ways to help Zhao Mancang wash clothes.

No one knows how she managed to get pregnant.

After she became pregnant, Zhao Mancang gradually distanced himself from her.

Zhao Mancang knew that Xu Wenluo wanted to repay him, and that she had no relatives left in the world, so he was her closest relative.

Later, her child was born, and she named him Xu Sizhao, which means "missing Zhao".

Reading it backwards is also correct; it becomes Zhao Sixu.

However, Xu Wenluo didn't dare to use the surname Zhao in her name; otherwise, Zhao Mancang probably wouldn't have let her stay at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily News.

Later, in the 1970s, Yunlan City was established, and Xu Wenluo came to Yunlan City.

Whether it was intuition or something else, Xu Wenlu had a feeling that her Brother Zhao should be in Yunlan City.

Unfortunately, she has been here for so many years but has never found him.

Xu Sizhao is now eighteen years old, but her Brother Zhao still hasn't appeared.

Given Zhao Mancang's status and position in Yunlan City, it would be very difficult for Xu Wenluo to see him.

Zhao Mancang had indeed never met Xu Sizhao. (End of Chapter)